


Hunting trips are never worth it

by Icarasilver



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Finds Out About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Kidnapping, Lancelot is alive, M/M, Magic Revealed, Protective Arthur, Protective Merlin, Torture, evil sorcerer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:00:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29220639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icarasilver/pseuds/Icarasilver
Summary: Merlin had always hated hunting, so it made perfect sense that he would not be enjoying his day. However, he did not expect it to go quite so badly wrong before the sun had even reached its high point.orThe knights, Merlin and Arthur get kidnapped by bandits and a sorcerer, who just happens to be evil (because kidnapping and torture is obviously the way to make people see magic isn't dangerous) whilst out on a hunting trip. Merlin knows he needs to get them out and protect his friends, even if that means sacrificing his life and his secrets to keep them safe. Self-sacrifice and a lot of feelings occur, including a king realizing his manservant might be more than just a friend.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 219





	1. Chapter 1- POV Merlin

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, hope you are all doing alright. this is my first multi chapter fic, it wont be to long but I really hope you like it. let me know what you think and sorry about any mistakes.  
> Have an amazing day!!

Merlin had always hated hunting, so it made perfect sense that he would not be enjoying his day. However, he did not expect it to go quite so badly wrong before the sun had even reached its high point.  
Merlin, Arthur and the knights had been out for just over two hours and Merlin had managed to scare away at least three innocent deer and six birds, earning him more than a few glares from Arthur, before they were ambushed.  
As usual though it couldn’t just be a normal ambush, one he could defeat with a few convenient falling branches and wayward arrows. No, it had to not only be bandits that attacked them but also sorcerers. Even worse was the fact that the sorcerer apparently had some sort of glowing blue stone that could knock them all out meaning before Merlin could do anything he was hit by a rush of light, toppled off his horse and into a frankly painful oblivion.

By the time Merlin blinked awake he knew something was wrong, mostly because he couldn’t feel his magic. Instead he could only feel the cold iron cuffs encircling his wrists and ankles and a strange emptiness in his body. He could almost feel the cuffs searing into his skin stopping any power he might have from taking effect. Cold iron had always had a worse effect on him than most. His whole being was magic though, so to have his that part of him suppressed fought every instinct he had. He looked around the dungeon to see Lancelot and Gwaine similarly chained next to him whilst Percival , Leon, Elyan and Arthur were chained on the wall opposite.

As he looked around he realised he was the last one awake, only Percival still seemed to be vaguely out of it, although the gash on his forehead and the trickle of blood running down his face explained that. However, they didn’t have to deal with a part of them being taken, so it seemed pretty fair to him that he was the last awake.  
‘Ahh Merlin, nice of you to finally join us.’ Came Arthur’s voice, prat. The knights all turned to him, clearly having not realised he had gained consciousness.  
‘Where the hell are we?’ Merlin questioned, his voice sounded rough so he guessed he had been out for at least a few hours.  
‘We don’t know _Mer_ lin, one minute we were chasing a stag, one you didn’t scare away with all your racket, and the next thing we know we are all getting knocked out by some sorcerer.’ Arthur said with a heavy dose of sarcasm. Why he couldn’t just say it nicely Merlin would never know.  
‘Great, just great. Next time I say we shouldn’t go on a hunt maybe you will listen to me.’ Arthur rolled his eyes in response. ‘Has anyone come to talk to you yet?’

‘Not yet, it’s only been about an hour since I woke up though, I was the first awake. Nothing has changed since I woke up, can’t find a way to get the cuffs off. Any ideas?’ Merlin knew what Lance meant. Could he magic his way out of here, out of the cuffs and to safety. He knew it might mean revealing his magic but honestly, he couldn’t care less. Well that might not be quite true. He definitely cared since Arthur would be pissed, but it was better than dying so he cared about it less than saving their lives. Except he couldn’t reach his magic. He tried to reach it but it just made him feel more nauseous, the cuffs were blocking it, quite possibly draining it from the weekends he was feeling.  
‘The cuffs are made of cold iron, to thick to break out of without the key or a blacksmith.’ He knew Lance would get the hint, magic couldn’t help them this time. The others hopefully couldn’t pick up the specific mention of cold iron though.

‘We need to get out before they come back, I don’t know what they want yet but it can’t be good.’ Arthur said.  
‘No shit, Sire,’ Merlin let the sarcasm heavily out, it was never good. Not many people kidnap someone with good intentions though so it was pretty obvious. ‘does anyone have any actually good suggestions? People don’t tend to have good intentions when chaining people in their dungeons after all.’  
‘Maybe if one of us can slip the cuffs they can release the others?’ Leon voiced as he tried tugging his wrist a little harder.  
‘How do you suggest we slip the cuffs?’ Gwaine asked ‘That is going to be a painful experience if you want to try and slip them mate. Besides even if one of us could get out we can’t help the others without a key. Maybe we should just wait and see what they want?’  
‘Because that it going to go so well Gwaine, they probably want to kill us.’ Elyan definitely had a point.  
‘If they were going to kill us wouldn’t they have done it already?’ Percival finally looked more awake, ‘I mean why wait?’

‘Very clever Sir Percival, I’m impressed.’ Every head swung to look at the man shadowing the doorway to the cell. ‘You are quite right to. We don’t want to kill you, not yet.’ A man came closer, still beyond the bars to their cell. Percival raised his head a little to evaluate the threat as the man came into the light, he looked older than Merlin by at least twenty years, dark hair grey flecked and eyes a disturbing yellow. It was as though he were still doing magic but instead of the warm golden Merlin’s eyes turned when he cast his eyes were murky and sick looking, like his magic was ill. ’We need something from you first.’ He smiled a little, his eyes shifting to them one by one. Merlin fought to suppress a shudder at the way they locked on him.

‘And what do you want from us. Your breaking the law practicing sorcery and kidnapping knights of Camelot. Let us go before someone finds us.’ Leon voiced, although telling the man he was breaking the law seemed pretty foolish in Merlin’s opinion. It certainly wasn’t an incentive to release them.

‘There is no need for such anger Sir Knight, it won’t help you. No one is going to find you here, sorcery does have its uses you know.’ Then he turned to look at Arthur. ‘Your father was blind to the good in magic, just as you and your knights are. All we want to do is let magic be free. To not have to live under the rule of a Pendragon any longer, to not be persecuted for what we are.’ Merlin internally sighed, why did people always seem to think that the way to let magic be free was to kill people. Didn’t that just give more evidence to the belief magic was evil. Apparently, the sorcerer did not see it the same way as he continued. ‘Magic is not the evil in this land, it is you and your beliefs. However, you won’t be around much longer for it to be a problem. First, we need some information though, what use is your death if we can’t take your kingdom. Your public execution will certainly be a good way to start my reign, but for that I need to know how to get into your city, into your castle, need to know the layout and the patrols and the defences. We thought some of you might be able to help with that.’

‘We will tell you nothing.’ Arthur said, head held high, every man in the room voiced his agreement, Gwaine with a particularly vicious ‘fuck you’.

‘We were trained not to give this information up, in how to resist torture, what makes you think you are enough to break us.’ Leon voiced, yellow eyes slid to look at Merlin and this was when Merlin realised the mistake that had just been made and what was about to happen. Why couldn’t Leon have just stayed quiet. He started struggle anew, casting every spell he could think of to get rid of the chains to no avail. Lancelot looked over at him, it only took him a second to understand before his eyes widened and he started struggling to.

The man just laughed, ‘Oh but that makes it so much more fun, I do love a challenge after all. But since I would rather get this done quickly I suppose I will have to take the servant.’ Leon let out a gasp, realising the mistake he had made. Merlin felt a little sorry for him, knowing he would now blame himself for this. ‘I’m guessing he wasn’t trained to resist torture, was he? Why would he be, he isn’t a knight after all.’ Arthur began pulling on his chains, ‘He doesn’t look like he would hold up very well under torture after all. I suppose I can still make it fun though, drag it out a bit so you can hear his pretty screams.’ The sorcerer gave a frankly deranged laugh as he turned to beckon into the hallway. Merlin decided that this man was definitely crazy.  
Three men poorer into the cell, straight for Merlin as he continued to struggle. They unlocked his cuffs from the wall but didn’t take them off simply pulling him by the chains. The knight continued struggle and protest only to be soundly ignored.  
‘I’ll tell you what you want, leave him be.’ Arthur yelled as he fought his bonds. ‘He isn’t a part of this, he is just a servant. This isn’t his fault.’

‘Oh, It’s to late for that young King. You wouldn’t want to deny my fun, would you? It looks like you care about him enough anyway, maybe I made the right choice. Hurting him might just hurt you as well. I won’t go to far away, I wouldn’t want you to miss out. He is quite pretty. I can certainly see the appeal.’ The man grabbed Merlin’s face, leaning in towards him. Merlin decided at that moment he had had enough. He slammed his head into the man casing an indignant squark to leave his mouth before he smiled anew. ‘Such fire to, don’t worry I’m sure we can get rid of that. Besides young king, maybe this will teach you to do what you are told when you are first asked. Then your poor servant wouldn’t be forced into such an awful situation.’ The man’s voice was sickening as he began to pull Merlin along.

‘Just tell them what they want Merlin, whatever it is we can deal with it.’ Arthur said ‘I won’t blame you for what you tell them.’ He sounded more distressed then Merlin would have expected as he frantically tried to get to him. He would have thought the king would be more worried if it were one of his knights. It was nice to know he care at least, even if he was an idiot to think Merlin would give anything up.

‘I’m not going to tell them anything Arthur. Camelot is my home, I’m not going to just give up and not protect it. I can’t do that to you, or Gwen and Giaus. I will be fine don’t worry.’ Merlin tried to give him a reassuring smile although it probably came out more like a grimace.  
‘Merls, just tell them.’ Gwaine begged.  
‘You don’t have to do this.’ Lance tried to implore one of the guards only to be soundly ignored.  
Leon however looked proud, he always did value loyalty though. ‘I’m sorry Merlin. You are strong though, you can face this.’ Merlin could see the guilt written on his face and tried not to show how scared he felt.  
Percival gave a nod and a small smile as Elyan simply said ‘For Gwen.’ Merlin nodded as he was led away, the knights continuing to shout and insult behind him.

He was led only two doors down, close enough for the knights to hear his screams but perhaps not the questions.  
He could still here them calling for him as he was chained to a stone post in the centre of the room, the sorcerer waved a hand and it became quite blocking out the sounds of the knights.  
‘Let’s begin.’ He said, picking up a jagged knife, his yellow eyes grew hungry as he bought it up to Merlins arm.  
‘Tell me the least observed way into the citadel.’  
Merlin knew he could hold out on the information, he had been through pain before, the Serkets sting would be worse, he could deal with this. He couldn’t hold back his screams though.


	2. Chapter 2- POV Lancelot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 2 guys, hope you enjoy!! let me know what you think in the comments and Kudos.

Lance felt sick, it must have been at least three hours since they took Merlin, two and a half since he started to scream. There has been hardly a break in his screams in the last hour, however much the knights yelled and fought they were not acknowledged.  
Gwaine was crying in earnest now for his friend, Elyan lost the contents of his stomach about an hour ago with Percival not far behind him. Since then Percival had been staring at the same spot on the wall unmoving, he didn’t seem to realise it either which was worrying. Leon still tried to break the chains to no avail, his wrists bloody from his efforts.  
Arthur continue to periodically call out to Merlin but it was clear he wasn’t being heard or at least acknowledge. Tear tracks ran down his face, blood pooling on the floor from where he had rubbed his wrists raw trying to get to his manservant, his friend. Lance wasn’t sure what their relationship was any more but it was clear Merlin was more than just a servant to Arthur.  
Lance had listened to every word he could, but so far, he hadn’t heard Merlin break and tell them what they wanted to know. It seemed he was still fighting back, insulting his captors even now. Lance had moved to sit closer to Gwaine, he hadn’t found his own tears yet but he knew if this wasn’t over soon he wouldn’t be able to hold them back for long. Every knight in the cell was breaking listening to what their friend was going through.  
Gwaine began to calm as he came closer, looking up he said ‘We have to get him back. He’s my best mate, the first one I had. I can’t lose him.’ He choked off another sob, leaning back against the wall. Lancelot couldn’t quite reach him but went as far as the chains would allow, trying to offer some comfort.  
‘He’s still insulting them even now Gwaine, he hasn’t broken. He will come back and then we will get out of here. Arthur can give us all a few days off and you can spend the entire thing with Merlin if that is what you both want. You might have to vie for all the attention though. I hear he is in high demand.’ Lance said, trying to make the man feel better, he saw a flash of a smile before the new wave of screams began and it died a quick death.

‘When we get out of here we are having more than a few days of.’ Arthur said bitterly, ‘maybe even...’ he was cut off by another piercing scream, this one more broken than the last, as though Merlin’s voice were giving up on him, rubbed raw from the sounds the sorcerer was forcing out.  
‘I don’t understand how he is holding up against this.’ Leon said, he had stopped pulling on the chains to stare at the door to their cell. He had been the most reserved about the pain he was feeling but it was still clear on his face, so was the guilt. Lance knew that the man continued to fight his bonds to punish himself for what he had said, for putting merlin in harm’s way by making him appear an easy target. No one blamed him but that would not stop him blaming himself.  
‘He’s Merlin, we never understand half of what he is capable of.’ Percival didn’t take his eyes off the wall as he answered, at least he looked a little less vacant though.  
‘I didn’t realise he was so strong.’ Arthur whispered, he sounded guilty ‘I should have known, he always was stubborn even if he did hide every time we were attacked.’  
‘I believe Merlin is the strongest of us all, sire. He has been though more pain and suffering than we will ever know and yet he has come out a good person. This isn’t enough to break him’ Lance tried to reassure his king. This seemed to catch the rest of the knights attention as well.  
‘What do you mean Lance?’ Arthur finally looked up from his wrists.  
‘It is not my story to tell, although you know of the good he has done already. For me and every person in this room. He would follow you to hell and back sire. I truly believe that he would and has done everything within his power to protect us.’  
They quieted, thinking over what Lance said. The screams echoed around the cell again. Gwaine eventually gave in, covering his ears until thee sounds quieted. This time though they did not restart, it took a minute until they heard the sound of a door opening.  
Lancelot almost felt relief that his friends torment was finally over, this however was quickly replaced by fear, fear for what state his friend would be returned to them in.  
There was the sound of shuffling before their cell door opened and Merlins body was thrown in, laying limp and bloodied on the ground in front of them. His shirt was gone as was below the knee on both trouser legs. His torso was a bloodied mess, his back had deep gashes and there was a deep wound on one side of his torso, a cut down the side of his face still trickled blood. There were tens of shallow cuts along his calf and shin on both legs as well, a deeper slash near the knee of the right. He shuffled a little and let out a whimper, Arthur tried to get to him but he was to far into the centre of the room.  
The only good thing Lance could see so far was that chains were gone as were the cuffs. The knights all moved forward although no one could reach Merlin.  
The sorcerer laughed at their efforts, looking down on Merlin with a satisfied smirk.  
‘What the hell have you done to him.’ Gwaine ground out as he looked over at his wounded friend, this only elicited a further laugh from the sorcerer.  
‘He is stronger than he looks that one, I have to say I was impressed. We had to take some extra measures to try and get what we wanted out of him. He didn’t seem to want to give in however so unfortunately, I suppose, I will just have to take someone else to get what I want. We can test these techniques you seemed so proud to have learnt. For now, I will leave you to think it over. Merlin won’t last the night but I guess I can let you pick who comes next.’  
There were six very deadly glares aimed at the sorcerer. Arthur practically growled at him before he spoke. ‘I will kill you for ever laying a hand on him.’ Lancelot had never seen him quite so angry in the time they had known one another.  
‘And how do you intend to do that Pendragon, you have no way out of here. By the time you leave this cell he will already be dead and you will be following soon after.’ The cell door banged shut as he turned and left them. Merlin let out another whimper but nothing more as they looked over to him. Blood was spreading around him at an alarming rate.  
The footsteps had faded before Arthur began to talk again.

‘Merlin?’ He got a quiet noise in response. Arthur looked panicked, his voice strained but soft as he tried to get Merlin to listen. ‘I know it hurts but I need you to get over to me so I can try and find out where you are bleeding from.’ He was surveying Merlins body but it was difficult for anyone to tell were the worst wounds were. Lance could see his kings’ distress all to clearly.  
‘M’ bleed’ng from evry’whr.’ Came the response, Merlin didn’t even bother to lift his head. The statement did seem true, although was decidedly unhelpful Lancelot thought as he looked on at his friend. He could feel his heart breaking for Merlin as he watched him shift a little only to let out another low whimper.  
‘Merls.’ Gwaine said softly, ‘you gotta move so you don’t bleed out mate. I don’t think the princess would be very happy if you die on him.’ He sounded choked.

‘I d’n wanna move. ‘S comfy here.’ Merlin had started to sound more distant. It definitely did not look like a comfortable position. He was clearly about to pass out though so it probably didn’t matter to him to much Lance decided.  
The knights were clearly panicking even more now. Percy had finally looked away from the wall, his eyes trained on Merlin as if he could find a way to help him. Leon seemed as though he was thinking very hard about how bad an idea it would be to break his hand in order to get out of the shackles and Elyan didn’t look like he was having thought to dissimilar. Gwaine looked like he might cry again and Arthur, well Arthur looked distraught. Lancelot knew the king believed he had failed to protect this friend from a fate that he believed to be his fault. They needed to get out of here soon before someone broke.

‘Merls, come on buddy you can sleep as soon as we get out of these, okay?’ he could hear the strain clear in his own voice, worse than before. He tried to get Merlin to see he could release them now he was no longer bound, he realised Merlin probably hadn’t realised the cold iron was gone.  
The knights watched as Merlin moved a little in Arthur’s direction before he put his head back on the floor.  
Arthur managed to reach for him, pulling him closer as gently as possible. He still let out another moan but managed to get into Arthur’s arms so that his wounds could be inspected.

‘Merlin, we need to get out of here.’ Lance repeated. A couple of the knights shot him confused looks but his focus was on Merlin.

‘But Arth’r ‘ll hate me then.’ Merlin said from his place in Arthur’s arms. Arthur was clearly further panicked as he saw the extent of the wounds.  
‘Arthur won’t hate you Merlin.’ Lance said with a pointed look at Arthur, he definitely needed the king to clarify this point.  
Arthur however didn’t take much convincing. ‘I could never hate you Merlin. No matter what you told them or what you do I couldn’t hate you.’ Arthur sounded so sincere.  
‘Promise?’ Merlin blinked a little to look up at him.  
‘I swear it Merlin, I could never hate you. Despite the fact I have no idea what Lance expects you to do without the key I know I could never hate you.’ Arthur said softy to the man lying in his arms.

‘Come on Merlin, stay awake so we can get out of here.’ Gwaine pleaded.

‘He’s losing a lot of blood, I’m not sure he’s going to have much of a choice soon.’ Elyan said from his place next to Arthur, worry lines clear in his brow.

‘Merlin, just get us out then you can sleep I swear. You don’t have the cuffs on any more, come on you can sort this.’ Lance was growing desperate, he didn’t know how much longer Merlin would be conscious to help.  
The knights looked further confused as Merlin blinked his eyes open to look at Lance before closing them again.

‘M’Kay’ he said before raising his hand, whispering ' _Tospringe.'_ Lance saw his eyes flash behind his eye lids and suddenly all their shackles fell away. Arthur had gone dangerously still as he looked down at Merlin.  
‘He has magic.’ Leon said, looking awed rather than scared which is probably a good thing, although Lance didn’t really care at that moment what anyone else thought. Arthur just continued to sit staring down at Merlin in shock, but whatever Merlin has done was clearly all he had the energy for. The door swung open a little bit as Merlin curled more into Arthur. Merlin was out cold now though, the only sign he was still alive were the shallow breaths and the blood trickling from his wounds. At least this way he wouldn’t have to see Arthurs reaction which was certainly not a positive one, it wasn’t to negative though so maybe they could work on that.  
‘Why didn’t he get us out earlier, or stop them hurting him?’ Elyan voiced, he sounded wary but not afraid.  
‘Cold iron cuffs, they suppress magic. It looks like they only took them off him when they bought him here, after the torture.’ Lance moved towards Merlin a little, wary of the king’s reaction. He had been bought up to hate magic after all and now he currently had a sorcerer cradled in his arms. ‘They probably didn’t think he needed to be chained any more after what they did to him.’  
‘How could he not tell me?’ Arthur said, looking up from Merlins face to Lance.  
Lancelot just sighed a little as he looked down at his friend.  
‘He was scared Arthur; your laws say he has to die for what he is. He didn’t want to make you choose. First between him and your father and then between him and Camelot because he though you would choose Camelot, choose your father, choose to believe he was evil. He didn’t want to be forced from your side or killed.’ Lance said, sincerity in his eyes.  
Arthur looked up and nodded at him, the knights had come to stand in front of him, Gwaine lent down ‘If Merlin is magic then magic cannot be evil.’ He looked hard at Arthur. ‘If you even think about hurting him for this princess, I swear to whatever gods there are I will kill you.’ Apparently, the rest of his knights were also willing to commit treason for Merlin as he received four very solemn nods in response to Gwaine's statement. This came along with Leon, who was ever the voice of reason, saying ‘Maybe just stop him hurting Merlin, not kill him.’ Although Lance decided that was pretty much the same thing. They were both treason after all, one was just less permanent.  
Arthur seemed a little startled at their words. ‘Don’t worry, he is safe. I will not let anything harm him. I swear. I couldn’t,’ he looked up at his men ‘I could never hurt him. We need to get out of here though. He needs to get to Giaus.’ Arthur began to shift Merlin in his arms before Percival stopped him. ‘You need to bind his side first, he won’t make it with the amount of blood he is losing otherwise.’  
Gwaine stripped his shirt, handing it to Arthur who tied it around Merlin's torso, it didn’t take long for the blood to start seeping through.

The men stood, Arthur carrying Merlin as they exited the cell. Gwaine and Percival were first, checking for guards as they went. They made it half way up the stairs before there was a shout from behind them. As they rushed forward and burst through the door into the abandoned castle they came face to face with the sorcerer.  
‘How did you get free?’ He sneered as he raised a hand, ‘No matter, I suppose I don’t need all of you anyway, easy enough to send some of you back to Camelot in pieces. It would make a very dramatic warning.’ This man was clearly insane Lancelot thought as he looked around for a weapon.  
Merlin shifted in Arthur’s arms, apparently, he had woken up at the sign of danger and was squinting to look at the man.  
‘Lance.’ He said softly, Lance bent down to listen to him ‘tell him ‘m Emrys and he needs to fuck off pl’s’  
Lance sniggered as he stood, shaking his head a little. ‘He says that he is Emrys and to please fuck off.’  
‘He isn’t?’ Percival looked at Merlin awed, ‘I’ve heard the prophecy of him, he’s meant to be the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth.’ Although Lance was happy someone else knew of Merlin’s power this was definitely not the time to go into that prophecy.  
‘Exactly,’ the sorcerer laughed as the knights continued to stare down at Merlin, ‘Emrys would never betray his kind for a Pendragon.’ A ball of blue shot towards Arthur only to bounced off a shimmering gold wall that flickered to life in front of them. Apparently, it was a shield although it wasn’t looking very stable, probably due to the state of the warlock casting it. Lance looked down at Merlin in Arthurs arms to see him softly glowing his eyes closed again, Arthur was looking to with a small pleased smile on his face.  
The ball of blue bounced back at the sorcerer hitting him on the left of his chest, he fell backwards hitting the floor hard. Gwaine advanced on him, Percival in tow, by the time they got to him he was already dead, one side of his face burnt away. Gwaine simply turned to them and signalled them forward.  
The knights moved towards the exit, the golden flickering shield still surrounding them, the guards they met simply bounced off it, falling to the floor and not rising.  
They made it out of the abandoned castle and into the forest before they stopped. Merlin hadn’t moved since he put up the spell, although he continued to glow weekly.

‘What are we going to do, he isn’t going to make it back. I don’t even know where we are.’ Leon panted looking around at the forest.  
‘We’re in the forest of Breckfa. This is the old fortress of Lord Roden, I came here once as a child. On foot it will take at least two days.’ Elyan looked worried at the news he just delivered. Lancelot knew what it meant as well as the rest of them, it was unlikely Merlin would make it back alive.  
‘We need to see if we can’t treat some of these. Elyan, you have the most knowledge what can we do?’ Placing Merlin on the ground Arthur looked up at him.  
‘I don’t know if even Giaus could help Sire, the wounds are to deep. I can try and bind more of them but I don’t have enough knowledge to do more.’ Elyan knelt next to Merlin inspecting what he could see and getting to work, Percival handing over his shirt so it could be used as bandages.  
‘I can’t lose him Elyan, I need him.’ Arthur looked desperate as he knelt before Merlin. Lance watched over them warily, he knew it might break Arthur if Merlin died, but they might not have much of a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought.  
> The final chapter will be up tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3- POV Arthur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, here is the last chapter. I really hope you enjoyed the fic, let me know what you think in the comments.  
> Have an amazing day!

It took Elyan under an hour to clean all of the wounds, bind them and try to stop the bleeding the best he could. In that time the glow around Merlin lessened. The shield was still flickering around them but it didn’t look like it would hold for much longer. Arthur sat by him the whole time Elyan worked. Merlin looked so fragile like this, more so than Arthur had ever seen. He didn’t know weather to think Merlin was brave or stupid for holding out on the information, he was proud either way.

Once Elyan had finished they began their track back to Camelot. Percival offered to carry Merlin but Arthur couldn’t bear to let him go, he didn’t want anyone else to hurt him, not after he had been through so much.  
It took three hours for Lancelot to finally intervene.  
‘Sire,’ he waited for Arthur’s short nod before continuing, ‘I think you might need to let one of us carry Merlin for a little, you’re not going to be able to keep going much longer otherwise.’ Arthur looked down at Merlin's pale face. He knew Lance was right even if it pulled something in him to think of letting Merlin go. He simply nodded again, Percival came up in front of him and he carefully passed Merlin over to the taller man.

Gwaine came to walk beside Arthur not long after that, Arthur didn’t even notice until he cleared his throat.  
‘You love him, don’t you?’ Gwaine said, more sincerely than Arthur had heard him before.  
The comment bought Arthur pause, he couldn’t deny it despite the fact it was not something he had acknowledged before.  
‘I never told him that.’ Arthur replied to the man, he felt almost ashamed. He couldn’t bear to voice it now though, couldn’t bear to say it for the first time when Merlin wouldn’t be able to hear.  
‘I think he felt the same about you.’ Gwaine smiled, Arthur knew of all his knights Lancelot and Gwaine would know Merlin's feelings best. There was still uncertainty though.  
‘He didn’t trust me enough to tell me about his magic.’ He could hear the bitter turn in his voice as he said it.  
‘He didn’t tell me either princes, Lance is the only one who knew and from what I can tell that was an accident. Lance just saw him do magic and he couldn’t deny it, he made him promise to keep the secret instead. He was scared, he didn’t want to lose you.’ Gwaine gave a short squeeze on his shoulder as if to add to the point before he dropped his arm.

Arthur looked forward to Merlin, he understood the fear he must have felt. To be persecuted by the laws of Camelot for what he was, to believe his friends would hate him for it. But could he have not trusted them, not trusted they would make the right choice. If Merlin had told him though would he have understood. Or would he simply have believed Merlin to be evil, to be manipulating him? Arthur didn’t believe he could have ever thought him to be evil, not after their years together and all they had done for one another.

‘He could never loose me, I don’t want to lose him though. Not before I tell him what he means to me, I want to repeal the ban on magic, I want him to see that. For him to tell me about it, how he has used magic. I want him to be able to share that with me.’ Arthur knew he sounded a little desperate, all pretence of being a king had gone though, as soon as he heard Merlin’s first scream.  
Gwaine looked at him and Arthur knew the other man understood. ‘He will princess don’t worry.’ He moved away a little after that.

They walked for hours, the forest becoming thicker and darker until they could no longer tell the way home. Arthur didn’t want to stop but they had little choice in the end. Leon started a fire as they searched for anything to eat, Gwaine managed to find a rabbit but that was all. Whilst they searched Elyan checked over Merlin's wounds but they all knew the prospect was grim. Elyan’s pinched brow only confirmed the fact.  
They hardly talked around the camp fire that night, Leon offering to take first watch as they huddled close to the fire.

They slept for a few hours, the men alternating shifts, Arthur had offered but been denied on the grounds that he was watching over Merlin. Arthur gave up in the end, laying besides Merlin keeping him close as they slept. By the time woke up after only a few hours sleep it was to see only Lancelot awake on the opposite side of the camp. Merlin still lay beside him, no longer glowing, this would not have been such a bad thing except he wasn’t breathing either.

Arthur just stared at him for a minute before he let out a sob. The knights woke quickly, Lance coming to stand beside him as the rest of the camp roused. It only took a minute for them to all understand. They seemed frozen in time as he sobbed over the body of the man he loved, the man they all loved.  
Gwaine walked off after only a minute, Leon following him. Arthur could hear the sound of shouting further away but didn’t look up, Lance sat next to him silently crying as well until he finally looked up from the body.

‘We have to take him back.’ Arthur choked out. He wouldn’t leave him in the forest despite the fact it seemed like a pointless endeavour to return him home. Maybe it would help Giaus though, they needed to give him a proper burial.

‘Yes sire.’ Lance didn’t bother to smile, instead he went for simply moving forward, delicately picking up Merlin’s body. They didn’t even have a cloak to wrap him in. His pale face looked so young despite the blood that adorned it. He looked peaceful, Arthur knew he would never see his friend laugh again, never see him smile or joke. The last thing he had done for them was save them all and he would not know how grateful they were, wouldn’t even be sure they hadn’t hated him for it.  
Gwaine and Leon came back minutes later looking broken. Arthur wasn’t sure what their fight had been about, if it was just emotions or something more but Leon now had a bruise on his face, Gwaine a split knuckle and new tear tracks. They stood close to one another though so whatever it had been was clearly resolved.

Arthur nodded at them all, trying to reassure them, before they left the makeshift camp. He knew he should say something, talk of how they had lost a good man, a good friend, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It seemed like a shallow statement compared to what Merlin was to them. The servant who had managed to make his way into all of their hearts and their confidences. He could see the mood of his men, morning as he had not see it before, for a man they all cherished. They continued to walk until eventually Gwaine finally broke the silence.

‘Will you tell us Lance?’ Lance looked up at him questioningly. ‘Tell us about his magic, how he saved us? I know you said it wasn’t your story to tell but I don’t think he would mind, not now he can’t tell us himself.’ Gwaine winced a little at the statement but didn’t take it back.

There was a long silence as Lancelot looked at Merlins face before he finally sighed, ‘I don’t know everything. He wouldn’t tell even me all that he has done. I know he has made mistakes, just like any man. I know he has regrets and triumphs. I know he has saved our lives, Arthur’s life, more times than even he can count. ’There was silence as the men took in what he was saying, ‘I will tell you everything I know, Giaus might be able to tell you more.’ And as they continued to walk Lancelot began to tell them of everything Merlin had done for them.  
It started with the Griffin and how Merlin and Lancelot met, a different story from the one Arthur was told, pieces fitting together where they hadn’t before. Then it went on, they heard about Merlin’s defeat of Nimue, of the Sidhe, the black knight, the questing beast, of Cornelius Sigan and of the troll. His efforts to stop Morgana and her men, up to the cup of life and how he defeated her even then. They heard of every adventure Merlin had told Lance of, all the things he had done for them without even knowing. Arthur had known Merlin was different, knew he was brave and strong but never could have experienced him to have don’t so much for him and his kingdom.

By mid day they reached a small lake, Leon set Merlin’s body on the grass covered shore as they each drank and rested before the next leg of their journey home.  
The water lapped on Merlin’s finger tips as they sat for a minute, suddenly Leon stood from his place by Merlins head, moving back a little.  
‘Sire look, Merlin.’ Leon breathed out as he continued to back up.  
Arthur looked over to Merlin only to see him glowing again, his body becoming brighter and brighter. The rest of the knights stood moving back as he began to rise a little from the floor, the golden glow intensified. The water was swirling under him as he rose higher until they could no longer see him in the light. No one made another sound as they shielded their eyes from the glow. By the time it dimmed they saw Merlin back on the floor, blood and cuts gone from his body. Except he was no longer still either, he began to shift a little and sit up. He was breathing again. Arthur couldn’t look away as he gave a grimace and blinked his eyes open.  
‘Where the hell are we?’ Merlin looked over to the knights with a very confused expression, ‘What are you all doing?’ His eyebrows pinched together watching the frozen knights.  
Arthur eventually shook off his awe. He ran up to Merlin and sunk to his knees beside him.  
‘Don’t ever scare me like that again.’ He demanded before kissing him firmly, Merlin froze for a second, long enough for Arthur to think he had made a mistake before kissing back full force, wrapping his arms around Arthur’s neck. He felt warm again and so, so alive. Arthur couldn’t help but pull him closer.  
Eventually Gwaine let out a wolf whistle and they broke apart breathing heavily.

‘Come on princess, stop hogging Merlin. We want to see him to.’ Merlin flushed as Arthur pulled further back to allow his knights to see Merlin, he didn’t stray to far though. It felt to much like a dream, like if he let Merlin go he might wake up to a still, lifeless body again.  
The knights crowded them, each hugging Merlin telling him how glad they were he was okay even if they were a little confused.  
Finally, Gwaine asked me what they were all wondering, although he voiced it with no more tact than usual.  
‘How the fuck are you back from the dead mate?’ He demanded as he pulled Merlin into another hug. ‘Not that I’m not happy, but you were definitely not alive.’ He clarified after Percival hit him lightly on the head.

Merlin laughed looking a little sheepish, ‘I’m not really sure.’ He bought a hand to the back of his neck. ‘I mean the dragon once hinted I was immortal but he’s cryptic as hell so I wasn’t really sure if he meant literally me or like my magic. He’s very unspecific and I never felt like I wanted to tested the theory.’ The knights shared a look.  
‘So, you can’t die?’ Percival voiced, he sounded vaguely confused.  
Merlin just gave a small shrug and smiled.  
‘Surprise, I guess. I mean I might be able to die, just by an immortal blade so Excalibur could kill me, maybe. I don’t really know. Do your really want to test it?’  
He looked around at the knights with an eyebrow raised in an eerie mock of Giaus.  
‘No.’ Came the unanimous decision.  
Along with Arthur’s resounding ‘Don’t even think about ever testing it again.’ Which seemed to satisfy Merlin who went back to leaning into Gwaine’s side. There was silence for a second before it was finally broken by an oddly timid Elyan.

‘So, you have magic?’ He asked although the answer was pretty obvious by now.  
‘Yeh, I was born with it.’ Then he seemed to realise what this meant and his face fell as he went a little rigid. It was as though he hadn’t realised before that him coming back to life would mean they knew his secret. Lance came to stand closer to him, a hand resting in his shoulder. Merlin turned to face Arthur, the fear prominent on his face.  
‘I’m sorry Arthur, I only used it for you I swear. I would never betray you. I’m sorry I lied I just didn’t want to hurt you, I didn’t want you to hate me.’ The words came out in such a rush as though he had been holding it back until he burst.

Arthur sighed. It had only been a day since he found out but he had known already that he would do anything to keep Merlin safe, the magic did not effect that in the least. Now he just needed to make Merlin see that. He moved forward tugging Merlin into his arms.  
‘I don’t hate you Merlin, I promised remember? I’m a little angry you lied,’ Merlin made a wounded sound. ‘but I understand. Will you tell me about it? Lance told us what he knew but will you tell me everything?’  
‘Everything, I promise.’ Merlin said relaxing into the embrace. Arthur decided now was as good a time as any to tell him the realisations he had come to on their journey back.

‘When we get back to Camelot I’m changing the laws, you won’t have to live in fear any more. I love you Merlin.’ Merlin gasped a little, pulling back to look at him as the knights moved off a little to give them privacy. ‘Nothing could change that.’ He looked down as the man in his arms, smiling a little and getting a small pleased smile in response.  
‘Really?’ Arthur just nodded. Merlin moved forward again and kissed him, crying as he did.  
‘I love you to.’ Merlin said. ‘Have for ages now.’ He kissed Arthur again and decided despite everything he was glad for this hunting trip because he had got Arthur from it, no lies or deceit between them, just the truth. Maybe this hunting trip had been worth it because really, he would agree to go hunting every day for the rest of his life if it meant he could keep this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for leading.  
> leave comments and kudos below if you enjoyed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think with kudos/comments.


End file.
